Surf

Gustiest front in years for parts of Victoria and NSW

Craig McIntosh, 7 September 2019

A deep low and cold front generated wind gusts well over 100km/h in parts of Victoria and NSW on Friday and Saturday.

The low and cold front crossed southeastern Australia on Friday and early Saturday, closely followed by a trough that helped to maintain powerful winds. The winds were strongest over the most exposed coastal sections of central and eastern Victoria and eastern NSW, with some gusts as strong as those produced in tropical cyclones.

The highest wind gust recorded as the system passed was 133km/h at Wilsons Promontory in West & South Gippsland on Saturday morning. This gust fits in the range of a category two cyclone. Wilsons Promontory is notoriously windy, and today’s gust falls well short of the 143km/h recorded last month.

The strongest wind gust in NSW was 124km/h at Green Cape on the south coast on Saturday morning, fitting in the range of a category one cyclone. This was the strongest gust recorded there in 11 years.

Many other places recorded their strongest wind gust in years, with Penrith’s 100km/h gust and Kiama’s 115km/h gust the strongest in seven years and six years respectively.

The winds will ease gradually throughout Saturday, however much of the southeast and east will stay windy over the weekend. A southerly looks to roar up the east on Monday, bringing a very gusty start to the working week.